I was fortunate enough to finally view this beautiful thylacine specimen behind the scenes at the AMNH in New York. I have been trying to view it for quite some time if anyone recalls this post!

This was a female that lived at the Bronx Zoo from 1917 to 1919. She was the last of four thylacines to live there [x]. After her death, the New York Zoological Society donated her body to the AMNH. This individual’s skeleton is also part of the museum’s collection.

Unfortunately, none of the AMNH’s thylacine material is currently on public display.

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The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus, Greek for “dog-headed pouched one”) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is more commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger (because of its striped back). Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It was the last extant member of its family, Thylacinidae, although several related species have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene.

Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite its official classification as extinct, sightings are still reported, though none proven.

Analysis of the skeleton suggests that, when hunting, the thylacine relied on stamina rather than speed in the chase.